The Conversation

Why the Southeast is burning – extreme drought is only part of the reason

Written by Zachary Handlos, Atmospheric Science Educator, Georgia Institute of Technology

Fire crews responded to dozens of wildfires burning in Georgia and northern Florida on April 23, 2026.Georgia Department of Natural Resources via AP

Large parts of the southeastern U.S. are in the midst of an exceptional drought, and it is fueling dozens of wildfires in Florida and Georgia.

One of those wildfires, in southeastern Georgia’s...

Why the Southeast is burning – extreme drought is only part of the cause

Written by Zachary Handlos, Atmospheric Science Educator, Georgia Institute of Technology

Fire crews responded to dozens of wildfires burning in Georgia and northern Florida on April 23, 2026.Georgia Department of Natural Resources via AP

Large parts of the southeastern U.S. are in the midst of an exceptional drought, and it is fueling dozens of wildfires in Florida and Georgia.

One of those wildfires, in southeastern Georgia’s...

Supreme Court’s ‘shadow docket’ brings hasty decisions with long-lasting implications, outside of its usual careful deliberation

Written by Wayne Unger, Associate Professor of Law, Quinnipiac University

The U.S. Supreme Court is being criticized for decisions that are made quickly and outside of public view.Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The recent publication of confidential Supreme Court memoranda by The New York Times has brought to light a pivotal moment in the court’s history. “The birth of the Supreme Court’s shadow...

School gardens help students learn science and connect with agriculture – but making them happen isn’t easy

Written by Shelley Mitchell, Senior Extension Specialist in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Oklahoma State University

These kids are doing a lot more than just playing in the dirt.SolStock/E+ via Getty Images

I used to teach high school science in Oklahoma, and one day I brought in a stalk from a cotton plant with bolls of cotton still attached. Students asked me why I glued cotton balls to a stick.

My students and I lived in a rural town surrounded by pastures of...

The new brain break app for Philadelphia students raises questions about more screen time

Written by Mary Jean Tecce DeCarlo, Clinical Professor of Literacy Studies, Drexel University

Brain breaks improve the neural connections your brain is making between new information and prior knowledge.Mihaela Rosu/iStock/Getty Images Plus

If you have a child in school right now, you may have heard them talk about needing a “brain break” while doing homework or studying for a test. Maybe they shake their bodies out, do some...

Many churches, synagogues and mosques are built around families – and they’re struggling to respond to rising singles

Written by Peter McGraw, Professor of Marketing and Psychology, University of Colorado Boulder

Single women, in particular, often feel overlooked in church.Lawren/Moment via Getty Images

When a couple marry in a church, synagogue or mosque, the ceremony does more than sanctify a union. Often, it binds two families to an institution.

For centuries, marriage and child-rearing have been among the main ways adults are integrated into...

New reading textbooks, same problem: Why children’s reading scores in the US aren’t rising

Written by Shawn Datchuk, Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Iowa

Approximately 34% of U.S. fourth grade students without disabilities and 72% of students with disabilities scored below basic reading levels in 2024. Anna Maslennikova/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Recently, I worked with a group of elementary teachers in Iowa to select new reading textbooks and software. They wanted new materials to improve their...

What we lose when artificial intelligence does our shopping

Written by Mark Bartholomew, Professor of Law, University at Buffalo

Amazon's AI shopping assistant, Rufus, on a computer monitor on Dec. 1, 2024, in New York. Company apps, including Rufus, may make it easier to shop, but consumers might balk at giving up too much of the shopping experienceAP Photo/Peter Morgan

Americans spend a remarkable amount of time shopping – more than on education, volunteering or even...

If Justice Alito resigns before the midterms, a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court is likely to sail through confirmation

Written by Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst

Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas share a laugh at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Washington is buzzing with the possibility that President Donald Trump might name one or more Supreme Court justices before the November midterm elections.

In a conversation with Fox Business TV host Maria Bartiromo...

Extreme rain on snow is testing aging dams across Michigan and Wisconsin – this is the future in a warming world

Written by Richard B. (Ricky) Rood, Professor Emeritus of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan

In the upper Midwest, aging infrastructure, from dams to city drains, was overwhelmed by floodwater in April 2026. Jonathan Aguilar/Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service/CatchLight via Getty Images

Michigan and parts of Wisconsin are in the midst of a historic flooding event in spring 2026. Days of heavy rainfall on top of snow have sent lakes and...